{"id":215754,"date":"2025-09-10T14:56:10","date_gmt":"2025-09-10T14:56:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/215754\/"},"modified":"2025-09-10T14:56:10","modified_gmt":"2025-09-10T14:56:10","slug":"whos-leading-nepal-after-oli-resignation-whats-next-for-gen-z-protests-civil-rights-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/215754\/","title":{"rendered":"Who\u2019s leading Nepal after Oli resignation, what\u2019s next for Gen Z protests? | Civil Rights News"},"content":{"rendered":"

Nepal\u2019s military has taken over the streets of the capital, Kathmandu, in a bid to end two days of protests against corruption that rapidly escalated into a full-blown public revolt against the country\u2019s political elite, culminating in Prime Minister KP Oli\u2019s resignation<\/a> on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

At least 19 people were killed in clashes with security forces on Monday that further inflamed protesters, who on Tuesday\u00a0set the country\u2019s Parliament building<\/a> on fire while also torching the homes of several prominent politicians.<\/p>\n

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On Wednesday, amid a curfew, the Nepali army ordered people to stay at home.<\/p>\n

Yet with Oli no longer prime minister, questions about Nepal\u2019s political future are growing, especially with the Gen Z protesters who forced his removal unwilling to settle for a replacement prime minister from the current parliament.<\/p>\n

So who is in charge in Nepal at the moment \u2013 and what happens next?<\/p>\n

What happened in Nepal?<\/p>\n

Youth-led \u201cGen Z\u201d protests began in Kathmandu<\/a> and other cities of Nepal on Monday.<\/p>\n

The demonstrations were against corruption scandals in the country and were prompted by rising anger online towards the children of Nepali government officials \u2013 dubbed \u201cNepo kids\u201d<\/a> \u2013 who document their lavish lifestyles online. The protests broke out days after the country blocked more than 20 social media sites for not complying with government rules. This ban has since been lifted.<\/p>\n

A few hours into the protest on Monday, demonstrators broke through police barricades and entered Parliament premises. Some people defied a curfew ordered by authorities. The police ended up shooting live rounds at the protesters, killing at least 19 people and injuring more than 100.<\/p>\n

On Tuesday, curfews were imposed in several districts of Nepal. However, protesters defied the curfew orders and set fire<\/a> to government buildings, including the parliament<\/a>, alongside the office of the country\u2019s leading daily news media organisation, Kantipur Publications.<\/p>\n

Oli, who was elected as PM for the fourth time last year, announced his resignation. Other ministers in Nepal also resigned<\/a> from their posts.<\/p>\n

Nepali ministers had to be evacuated through helicopters to protect them from the flames and mob attacks. Protesters also began to break into prisons and free inmates.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s behind the army deployment in Nepal?<\/p>\n

The Nepali army was deployed<\/a> after 10pm (16:15 GMT) on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

While military mobilisation is relatively uncommon in Nepal, Bishnu Raj Upreti, a public policy analyst and research director at Nepal Centre for Contemporary Research (NCCR), told Al Jazeera that the army has been deployed in Nepal on the streets in the past.<\/p>\n

The most prominent example of that, he said, was \u201cduring the later half of the Maoist insurgency period\u201d. Nepal\u2019s civil war lasted from 1996 to 2006. It began when the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) launched an armed rebellion against the monarchy and government. The Maoist insurgency ended with the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Accord in November 2006, leading to the abolition of the monarchy and the establishment of a federal democratic republic in Nepal two years later.<\/p>\n

This week, as protests erupted, the army initially remained in its barracks but was called out onto the streets by President Ram Chandra Poudel after\u00a0the Nepali police was unable to control the soaring agitation.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe situation was out of control of civilian government,\u201d Upreti said. \u201cHence army came into the forefront in coordination with president. It is a crisis management option.\u201d<\/p>\n

Before the army\u2019s mobilisation, the chiefs of Nepal\u2019s security forces, alongside the army, released a statement, urging restraint and peace.<\/p>\n

The statement, originally in Nepali, says: \u201cAs coordination is under way between the relevant parties to address the situation after the protest and resolve the problem, any demonstrations, vandalism, looting, arson, and attacks on individuals and property in the name of the protest will be considered punishable crimes and strict action will be taken by security personnel.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn addition, the Nepali Army is confident that it will continue to fulfill its respective responsibilities to maintain national unity and social harmony and normalise public life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Is the army in charge?<\/p>\n

Officially, experts said, the army\u2019s role is merely to restore order, and not to fill the administrative gap left by Oli\u2019s resignation.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt present, the army\u2019s role is confined to ensuring security rather than exercising administrative control,\u201d Yog Raj Lamichhane, an assistant professor at the School of Business in Nepal\u2019s Pokhara University, told Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n

In practice, though, Upreti said the army was effectively in charge of the country at the moment, because President Poudel \u2013 seen as a part of the same ruling elite that the protesters want to remove from power \u2013 lacks credibility among the Gen Z campaigners for change.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven if there is ceremonial president above the army, he is not accepted by the Gen-Z so he has to rely on coordination with the army,\u201d he said. \u201cFunctionally, the army is in charge, [though] constitutionally the president is still in charge of the country.\u201d<\/p>\n

How and when could an interim government be formed?<\/p>\n

Paudel and the Nepali army have called the protesters for talks on the country\u2019s political future, with the president positioning himself as a convener of that dialogue, Lamichhane said.<\/p>\n

But first, more than 3,200 young Nepalis are currently huddling in an online discussion on social media messaging platform Discord to debate \u201cwho will officially take part in the talks and what issues will be discussed\u201d, said Anish Ghimre, a Nepali journalist with the Kathmandu Post, arguably Nepal\u2019s most reputed English publication, and a part of the Kantipur group.<\/p>\n

Some of the potential demands they could make include the dissolution of parliament, new elections within six months \u2013 or, at most, a year \u2013 and possibly, a mechanism to directly elect the prime minister. Term limits for prime ministers, and a reduced term for parliament \u2013 from five years to four \u2013 might also figure in their demands, Ghimre suggested. Like other parliamentary systems, Nepal\u2019s voters elect their legislature, and it is the party that comes to power that chooses the prime minister.<\/p>\n

There are currently no term limits for prime ministers, but no PM has completed a five-year term since the country adopted its post-monarchy constitution in 2008.<\/p>\n

Who are the potential contenders to lead Nepal next?<\/p>\n

\u201cIf the process remains within the constitutional framework,\u201d the next PM \u2013 even if in an interim capacity \u2013 would need to come from the current members of parliament, Lamichhane said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHowever, if it extends beyond existing provisions, former chief justices are seen as potential candidates,\u201d he said, while adding that \u201cpopulist youth figures\u201d could also emerge as contenders.<\/p>\n

The most prominent among them is 35-year-old rapper-turned-mayor of Kathmandu, Balendra \u201cBalen\u201d Shah.<\/p>\n

In comments and posts online, several Nepali social media users supporting the protests have backed Shah as the South Asian country\u2019s next premier. Balen has supported the protests. On Tuesday, he posted on social media, urging demonstrators to exercise restraint.<\/p>\n

Shah became Kathmandu\u2019s mayor in 2022, winning the seat as an independent candidate. Before this, he was a musician who used his work to highlight corruption and inequality. However, Shah has also been a controversial figure \u2013 a crackdown on street vendors drew criticism from civil society leaders last year. He has also backed the idea of a Greater Nepal \u2013 with parts of present-day India included.<\/p>\n

In recent months, Nepal\u2019s pro-monarchy movement<\/a> has also seen a revival, with sections\u00a0welcoming the former king, 77-year-old Gyanendra Shah, on the streets of Kathmandu in March.<\/p>\n

However, experts say the current protesters do not want a monarchy to be reinstated.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe movement did not demand this, and the republic remains the fundamental framework under discussion,\u201d Lamichhane said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Nepal\u2019s military has taken over the streets of the capital, Kathmandu, in a bid to end two days…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":215755,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[3774,413,17628,454,712,65805,50,80,7237,345,103],"class_list":{"0":"post-215754","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world","8":"tag-asia","9":"tag-civil-rights","10":"tag-corruption","11":"tag-government","12":"tag-internet","13":"tag-nepal","14":"tag-news","15":"tag-politics","16":"tag-protests","17":"tag-social-media","18":"tag-world"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/215754","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=215754"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/215754\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/215755"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=215754"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=215754"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=215754"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}